4 December, 2025
Scientists have uncovered how changing ocean currents in South Georgia’s fjords could affect the survival of young mackerel icefish. The species is a key component of the island’s rich marine …
Read more on Ocean currents shape fish survival in South Georgia’s fjords
13 November, 2025
New research reveals 47% decline in breeding female elephant seals at sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia following a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak. Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) …
Read more on Severe impact of avian flu on southern elephant seals
11 November, 2025 Tabitha Taylor Buck
As the world descends on Brazil for COP30, a familiar figure has beaten the masses to it. Far from her usual icy runways, Ice Cold Katy, one of British Antarctic …
Read more on Carbon sink or carbon source? Science flights over the changing Amazon Rainforest
10 November, 2025
A scientist from the British Antarctic Survey has contributed to a major new international publication, coordinated by the UK National Commission for UNESCO, which highlights the accelerating decline of glaciers …
Read more on UK scientists contribute to global UNESCO report warning of unprecedented glacier loss
20 October, 2025
New advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are transforming the way scientists explore and understand some of the most remote parts of the ocean around Antarctica and the strange creatures that …
Read more on Artificial Intelligence supercharges science on the Antarctic seafloor
16 October, 2025
RRS Sir David Attenborough departs from Plymouth on 17 October to begin five-week voyage to Antarctica, marking the start of the new Antarctic field season. Cambridge, UK – British Antarctic …
2 October, 2025
Ancient ice from Antarctica, extracted as part of the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice project, captures a unique climate record spanning at least the past 1.2 million years. The team …
29 September, 2025 Emily Newton
Geoengineering is the hot topic in climate science debate – drawing increasingly emotive and divisive responses, as investment in blue-sky engineering proposals grows and progress on decarbonisation stutters. Geoengineering is …
Read more on Why is everyone talking about geoengineering? | Beyond the Ice
29 September, 2025
London, 29-30 September 2025 – Scientists meeting at The Royal Society in London this week are issuing a stark warning: dramatic and extreme changes in Antarctica are happening faster than …
6 August, 2025 Sarah Le Besque
Glaciers – immense rivers of ice, containing vast volumes of freshwater – are often considered barren environments, and the melting of them seen as an indicator of climate change. But …
30 July, 2025 Emily Newton
When news broke that Antarctica had gained ice mass between 2021 and 2023, it sparked debate across comment sections worldwide. How could the continent be gaining ice when we’re constantly …
Read more on How do we actually know Antarctica is melting? Mass balance explained
24 July, 2025
A new study has revealed that ocean tides can directly influence when massive Antarctic icebergs break off from the ice shelves surrounding the continent, a process known as calving. The research marks a major step toward accurately forecasting ice loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet and improving projections of global sea level rise.
Read more on New research links ocean tides to when icebergs in Antarctica break off
23 July, 2025
Scientists from British Antarctic Survey have contributed to research that significantly improves predictions of future precipitation – rainfall and snowfall – in High Mountain Asia, a region that provides water …
Read more on New study improves climate predictions in Asia’s mountain regions
18 July, 2025
A consignment of ancient ice from Antarctica, extracted as part of the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice project, arrived at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge for detailed analysis this month.
Read more on Antarctica’s oldest ice arrives for climate analysis
11 July, 2025
A team of scientists, including those from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), have uncovered the hidden remains of a vast ancient coastal plain beneath East Antarctica—an important discovery that could refine forecasts of future global sea level rise.
Read more on Ancient river landscapes discovered beneath East Antarctica
4 July, 2025
A new study in collaboration with BAS scientists reveals for the first time that zooplankton migration contributes significantly to carbon storage in the Southern Ocean – a process currently overlooked …
Read more on Tiny ocean heroes play a massive role in Southern Ocean carbon storage
26 June, 2025
A new study challenges recent claims about dramatic “greening” in Antarctica and how this conflicts with decades of field-based ecological knowledge. The new opinion article ‘Is Antarctica Greening?’, published in …
Read more on Study challenges recent claims about rapid Antarctic “greening”
25 June, 2025
Professor Mike Meredith is an oceanographer at British Antarctic Survey. He concludes a first of its kind science cruise on the RRS Sir David Attenborough conducting research in the polar …
Read more on A first for RRS Sir David Attenborough: science in the dark
19 June, 2025 Emily Newton
From pink spray paint to light-as-a-feather GPS loggers: the world of albatross tracking has come a long way in the past six decades. But one thing has sadly remained the …
18 June, 2025
New study reveals how Antarctic seals are responding to shifts in Antarctic sea ice and what long term changes could mean for their future survival. A new study of Antarctic …
Read more on Seals study shows melting sea ice is shaping their future
10 June, 2025
Antarctica’s emperor penguin population may be decreasing faster than some of the most pessimistic predictions. A new analysis of up-to-date satellite imagery suggests the birds’ numbers declined 22% over a …
Read more on Emperor penguin populations in Antarctica declining faster than thought
5 June, 2025
Antarctica could see a doubling of extreme weather events – such as atmospheric rivers – by 2100, with implications for future sea level rise. A new study published last week …
Read more on Climate change supercharges atmospheric rivers over Antarctica
29 May, 2025 Emily Neville
At the bottom of the world, where few humans have ever set foot, an unwelcome visitor has arrived. Antarctica – the vast, frozen wilderness of ice and snow – is …
9 May, 2025
British Antarctic Survey scientists and support staff are coming to the end of another successful Antarctic science season. Teams are now preparing for the transition to winter operations as the …
Read more on Celebrating a successful Antarctic science season
8 May, 2025
Scientists have discovered a glacier in Antarctica committing “ice piracy” – stealing ice from its neighbour in a phenomenon previously thought to take hundreds or thousands of years. Research led …
Read more on West Antarctic glacier observed stealing ice from neighbour
24 April, 2025
A new study reveals there was a time when massive icebergs, like the ones we see in Antarctica today, were drifting less than 90 miles off the UK coastline. Scientists …
22 April, 2025
This Earth Day (22 April 2025) the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is spotlighting a new book that showcases the latest scientific insights from the Antarctic. Antarctica and the Earth System, …
Read more on Antarctica’s global impact highlighted in new book
4 April, 2025
For the first time, scientists have collected measurements close to a giant iceberg, giving an unprecedented window into the impact of meltwater on the surrounding Southern Ocean and ecosystem. The …
Read more on Underwater robotic gliders provide new insights into the impact of a melting megaberg
21 March, 2025
The waters surrounding South Georgia, nestled beneath glaciated mountains, are among the most biologically rich in the Southern Ocean. In February, a team of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey …
Read more on Groundfish survey reveals key insights into South Georgia’s marine life
19 March, 2025
The oldest ice ever extracted from Antarctica is on its way to Europe, marking a major milestone in climate science. The ice cores, obtained through the Beyond EPICA – Oldest …
13 March, 2025
The most detailed map yet of the landscape beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet has been assembled by a team of international scientists led from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Known as …
Read more on New map of landscape beneath Antarctica unveiled
11 March, 2025
A new study has revealed significant changes in the strength and position of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds over the past 11,000 years. Researchers, including those from British Antarctic Survey …
Read more on Ancient wind patterns reveal future climate risks
4 March, 2025
ANTARCTICA: The world’s largest and oldest iceberg A23a has finally come to a standstill as it appears to have run aground near the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia. The giant …
Read more on World’s largest iceberg grounds near sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia
28 February, 2025 Amy Ringrose
Whether it’s bubbles of ancient air, microscopic creatures, or the rumble of an impending ice quake – there’s more hidden in Antarctica’s vast polar desert than meets the eye. Ice …
Read more on The core of the matter: the scientists using Antarctic ice to understand our climate
27 February, 2025
Congratulations to Professor Kate Hendry who has been awarded The Geological Society’s Bigsby Medal for eminent services to geology. The announcement was made today (26 February 2025). Kate is a …
17 February, 2025
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) researchers have been selected for funding from The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) to help improve our understanding of climate tipping points. These tipping points …
Read more on Scientists secure funding to study Greenland and North Atlantic climate tipping points
6 February, 2025
Scientists have discovered microplastics in the snow near some of Antarctica’s deep field camps, revealing how far-reaching plastic pollution has become. While not new, it’s the first time these tiny …
31 January, 2025
Scientists on the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia are working to better understand the rich marine life that inhabits the region. This month teams are focusing on two major …
Read more on Scientists study whales and fish to protect South Georgia’s marine ecosystem
29 January, 2025
Scientists from the University of Cambridge and British Antarctic Survey have used ice core records to draw new conclusions about how Antarctica was affected by increased global temperatures over 100,000 …
Read more on Ancient Antarctic ice loss offers insights into future climate scenarios
17 January, 2025
Congratulations to British Antarctic Survey (BAS) staff who have been awarded a Polar Medal in the 2025 New Year’s Honours List for their contributions to improving our understanding of Antarctica, …
10 January, 2025
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has awarded the 2025 Chapman Medal to Dr Nigel Meredith for his world leading and transformative research on plasma waves in magnetospheric physics. The announcement was made …
Read more on Dr Nigel Meredith awarded 2025 Chapman Medal for plasma wave research
9 January, 2025
The fourth Antarctic campaign of the Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice project has achieved a historic milestone this week, by successfully drilling a 2800-metre-long ice core, consisting of ice from the Antarctic …
Read more on Historic drilling project finds ice over 1.2 million years old
19 December, 2024
A new study shows that the ongoing decline in Antarctic sea ice is leading to more heat loss from the ocean to the atmosphere and an increase in storm activity. …
Read more on Declining Antarctic sea ice generating more ocean heat loss and storms
12 December, 2024
Over 30 researchers from international institutes are working on ice core drilling campaigns in Antarctica to probe the ice sheet’s behaviour, carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean, and the Earth’s …
Read more on Antarctic drilling missions seek to understand climate and ice dynamics
11 December, 2024 Emily Newton
Water is one of the pillars of humanity’s survival – and yet there’s still much to explain about the processes that bring water to some of the world’s largest populations. …
Read more on Precipitation at the Third Pole: the race to understand Himalayan rainfall
3 December, 2024
A new species of tusk shell, a burrowing marine mollusc, has been discovered in deep, North Atlantic waters by scientists from British Antarctic Survey and the Senckenberg Society for Nature …
Read more on New deep-sea mollusc species co-habits with anemone
26 November, 2024
A project looking at how clouds affect climate change in Antarctica starts its second year of field research this month. The Southern Ocean Clouds (SOC) project, which is part of …
Read more on Cloud scientists take to the skies to solve climate uncertainty
24 November, 2024
From their unmistakable tusks to their characteristic bristles (the envy of many a ‘Movember’ moustache!), the walrus is one of the Arctic’s most iconic species, and today (Sunday 24 November) …
22 November, 2024
A new study examines the risk to whales from ship strikes – the leading cause of death worldwide for the species. Thousands of whales are injured or killed each year …
Read more on Whale-ship strikes reduced if 2.6% of ocean made safer
20 November, 2024
New research shows that increased levels of plastic pollution in the Southern Ocean could reduce the ability of Antarctic krill, a tiny shrimp-like crustacean, to help take CO2 from the atmosphere. The …
Read more on Plastic reduces how krill remove carbon into deep ocean
19 November, 2024
An international research team, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), has been awarded £3.7M to advance a ground-breaking study on how underwater tsunamis are triggered by glacier calving around Antarctica. …
12 November, 2024
A team of researchers are using drones and satellite images from space to count southern elephant seals on the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia. Using remotely piloted aerial systems (RPAS) …
Read more on Drones and images from space count elephant seals
24 October, 2024
The Antarctic field season is now underway, marked by the arrival of the first aircraft at Rothera Research Station. And with a new season brings a new roster of innovative …
7 October, 2024
*It’s not too late to sign up to Ticket to Antarctica. Your name can join RRS Sir David Attenborough in the Falkland Islands* Do you dream of visiting Antarctica? Well, …
Read more on Get your Ticket to Antarctica! Your name will go on a journey to the frozen wilderness
4 October, 2024
New research released today in Nature Geoscience reveals that vegetation cover on the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold in the past four decades. Researchers from University of Exeter, University …
Read more on Satellite observations show accelerating greening of Antarctic Peninsula
1 October, 2024
A greater understanding of how climate change impacts at a regional level is vital to developing effective climate policies that protect communities from escalating risks. A team, including researchers from …
Read more on Regional data highlights emerging climate change signals
20 September, 2024
New science briefing summarises results of the ambitious international collaboration to study Antarctica’s most worrying glacier Cambridge: A vast area of the Antarctic Ice Sheet continues to retreat as a …
13 September, 2024
Antarctica’s rapidly receding sea ice could have a negative impact on the food supply of seabirds that breed hundreds of miles away from the continent. New research led by the …
Read more on Antarctica’s sea ice could impact seabirds’ food supply
12 September, 2024
Your name will go on a journey to the frozen wilderness! New project seeks to inspire, educate and entertain the public about Antarctica. Do you dream of visiting Antarctica? Well, …
6 August, 2024
The first continent-wide mapping study of plant life across Antarctica reveals growth in previously uncharted areas, and is set to inform conservation measures across the region. Published today in Nature …
Read more on First Antarctic-wide survey of plant life to aid conservation efforts
2 August, 2024
An international research team deployed the uncrewed submersible ‘Ran’ underneath 350 m thick ice. They got back the very first detailed maps covering extensive areas of the underside of a …
Read more on Mysterious patterns revealed on ice shelf bottom
1 August, 2024
An interdisciplinary team of researchers is heading back to Greenland this week (30 July) for the second phase of the Wandel Dal Project. This unique project aims to unravel the …
Read more on Expedition to Greenland will piece together movements of ancient civilisation
29 July, 2024 Kate Hendry
You might imagine glaciers as vast, cold, and lifeless rivers of ice, but they’re far more dynamic and alive than we once thought. Kate Hendry, polar oceanographer at British Antarctic …
23 July, 2024
Seabirds are among the most threatened creatures globally, often due to incidental mortality (bycatch) in fisheries. Several hundreds of thousands of seabirds are thought to be killed worldwide each year …
17 July, 2024
Scientists have for the first time taken in-situ ocean measurements during the collapse of a giant iceberg in the sub-Antarctic. These new observations reveal how ocean ecosystems may be affected …
Read more on Mega-iceberg melt affects important marine ecosystem
4 July, 2024
For the first time, researchers, including from British Antarctic Survey, have combined unique geological samples with sophisticated modelling to provide surprising insights into when and where today’s East and West …
25 June, 2024
Warm water that seeps underneath can melt ice in way not yet included in models A new and worrying way that large ice sheets can melt has been characterised by …
Read more on New tipping point discovered beneath the Antarctic ice sheet
22 May, 2024
In the first successful attempt to calibrate walrus counts from satellite imagery, scientists used drones to validate animal counts in Svalbard, Norway. This International Day for Biological Diversity, the researchers …
Read more on Drones validate walrus counts in satellite images from space
20 May, 2024
Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have found that the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023 were extremely unlikely to happen without the influence of climate …
Read more on Record low Antarctic sea ice ‘extremely unlikely’ without climate change
18 May, 2024
Comprehensive digital maps of Antarctica are now available to all, following the latest update of the Antarctic Digital Database. A new map viewer brings together all of the Antarctic Digital …
Read more on New interactive map of Antarctica available to all
17 May, 2024
Professor Lloyd Peck, Science Leader and marine biologist at British Antarctic Survey, joins over 90 exceptional researchers from across the world in being elected to the Fellowship of the Royal …
Read more on BAS scientist elected as Fellow of the Royal Society
16 May, 2024
The 2023/4 Antarctic field season has wound up and the last of the summer teams are aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough and heading for home. This season not only …
Read more on British Antarctic Survey’s Antarctic field season wraps up
29 April, 2024
British Antarctic Survey, in partnership with the University of Cambridge, will be at the 2024 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, showcasing how, using Antarctic ice cores to unlock the past, we …
Read more on Hold polar ice at Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition
25 April, 2024
Record low levels of Antarctic sea-ice in late 2023 resulted in breeding failures in a fifth of the continent’s emperor penguin colonies, according to a new study from British Antarctic …
Read more on Emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica suffer as sea-ice diminishes
19 April, 2024 Emma Pearce
Understanding what is going on inside an ice shelf is important for many reasons. But mostly, it allows us to better understand their contribution to sea level rise, and to …
Read more on BLOG: Looking into the world’s most studied ice shelf
16 April, 2024
Scientists have discovered a landscape of rocky hills and smooth plains beneath the remote Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. A team of researchers used seismic imaging to map the area …
Read more on New insights into the bed beneath remote Antarctic glacier
16 April, 2024
Scientists are a step closer to being able to predict when large icebergs will calve in Antarctica. A team of glaciologists will present their new results at the European Geoscience …
Read more on Scientists one step closer to predicting iceberg calving
19 March, 2024
Scientists are invited to apply to conduct research on the British Antarctic Survey research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough in May-June 2025. The research ship will undertake two trips between …
Read more on Opportunity to work on RRS Sir David Attenborough
6 March, 2024 Sarah Manthorpe
In this blog, science data manager Sarah Manthorpe describes her recent fieldwork survey of seabirds in the Southern Ocean. As I’m sitting here counting albatrosses from my desk, it feels …
Read more on Surveying seabirds on South Georgia to support conservation
5 March, 2024
Small bubbles of air from ice in Antarctica resolve a long-standing debate about why there was a decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) during the 16th and 17th centuries. The …
27 February, 2024
A new study, involving researchers from British Antarctic Survey, has found that significant thinning and retreat of the vast Thwaites Glacier began in the 1940s. Accelerating ice loss has been …
Read more on Significant glacial retreat in West Antarctica began in 1940s
23 February, 2024
The final field season of the ambitious, international effort to understand Antarctica’s giant Thwaites Glacier is complete. Teams of scientists and support staff with the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) …
19 February, 2024
SOUTH GEORGIA. Update, February 2024 – Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) continues to affect the wildlife on the subantarctic islands of South Georgia. The latest results from samples taken from …
Read more on Avian flu now detected in albatrosses on South Georgia
14 February, 2024
Communities of microorganisms at the bottom of polar lakes evolved independently from other regions, influenced by the particular geological, biological and climate history of their regions. The unique character of …
Read more on DNA reveals unique microorganisms evolved at poles
12 February, 2024
Sea urchins exposed to diluted seawater for long periods show signs of physical deterioration, according to scientists from British Antarctic Survey, the University of Cambridge and the Scottish Association for …
30 January, 2024
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) will build a new unique science facility at its UK Cambridge headquarters, enabling scientists to understand how organisms that live in cold polar environments evolved …
Read more on New science facility to unveil mysteries of animal life in Antarctica
29 January, 2024
A study published this month in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science reveals that disturbing the seabed, through activities such as trawling, could increase the scale and speed of climate …
Read more on Disturbing the seabed could make climate change worse
24 January, 2024
Scientists from British Antarctic Survey have discovered four previously unknown emperor penguin breeding sites. Changing sea ice conditions along Antarctica’s coastline have forced several emperor colonies to move in search …
Read more on Four new emperor penguin colonies found by satellite
23 January, 2024
A team of scientists are embarking on an ambitious 30-day scientific expedition on board RRS Sir David Attenborough to investigate how carbon dioxide moves and transforms in the Southern Ocean. …
Read more on New research mission on board polar ship set to unlock Southern Ocean’s carbon secrets
23 January, 2024
Scientists at British Antarctic Survey have found that the number of warm weather events in the South Orkney Islands have significantly increased in frequency over the last 75 years. Using …
Read more on Scientists chart the growing weather extremes on maritime Antarctic islands
20 January, 2024
Researchers from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have carried out aerial surveys of the remote volcanic Zavodovski Island in the sub-Antarctic to count the largest penguin colony in the world. …
Read more on Scientists count penguins on remote sub-Antarctic island
16 January, 2024
Scientists at British Antarctic Survey are using satellite images to track the colossal iceberg A23a. This new animation shows the recent trajectory of the A23a iceberg as it moves north …
Read more on New animation shows track of giant A23a iceberg
8 January, 2024
Halley Research Station, Antarctica – A team of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is gearing up for an expedition to the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica to unravel …
Read more on Team embarks on mission to investigate iceberg calving
22 December, 2023
Scientists, including from British Antarctic Survey, have used octopus DNA to discover that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) likely collapsed during the Last Interglacial period around 120,000 years ago …
7 December, 2023
Thirty seven scientists and over 24 support staff are arriving in Antarctica to work on Thwaites Glacier. They are part of the ambitious international effort to understand the glacier and …
28 November, 2023
Scientists are warning that apparently stable glaciers in Antarctica can change rapidly and lose large quantities of ice as a result of warmer oceans. Using satellite data, a team discovered …
Read more on Scientists track rapid retreat of Antarctic glacier
20 November, 2023
A team of international researchers set sail on the RRS Sir David Attenborough today (20 November) to answer some of the big questions about how Antarctic ecosystems and sea ice …
18 October, 2023
More than 200 scientists, including several from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), from 19 countries have released the first comprehensive assessment of trends in Southern Ocean ecosystems, in a report written …
18 October, 2023
The shortlist has been announced for The Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) Impact Awards 2023. Four BAS projects have made the shortlist and commended list, ranging from biodiversity and ecology …